Sent it to a friend of mine, he's about 4 grand into building a motor for his Maico right now! So Howard, was the 82 motor a reed valve? Does Todd Tracy still have that mutant Maico he built? That was the coolest Maico I've ever seen with the modern waterpumper motor and aircooled reed valve top end. Linkage year frame with twin shocks. Sweet bike and he could go like stink.

Joe, Todd sold it couple years back , got a CRF450 rode it twice then decided to hang 'em up. But he just picked up a '90 CR500 to run in the +40 and Disco class and even though he very rarely rides he still hauls the mail. We rode 290 couple weeks back and he says he going to run the first round at 3P GP but now that it's changed to Highlands we'll see. BTW I picked up a nice '79 CR250 and man those bad boys are light years ahead of my beloved Spanish evo bikes.

Kevin Windham‏ @kdub_14

Not 1factory racer hasnt been told that if ucan help teammate out, then do it 4 championship. Few r in a position like MM25 #partofthesport

he got $3500 for it as he just wanted to get rid of it as like my brothers (they both got them from Mulders in Germany) they had some "issues" BUT when they were on man you talk about a pure rocketship. I missed the entire spring series which sucked but I'll be at Highlands

Kevin Windham‏ @kdub_14

Not 1factory racer hasnt been told that if ucan help teammate out, then do it 4 championship. Few r in a position like MM25 #partofthesport

First/last yr of that horrible linkage system, did Maico motors, at least the 250 have a reed block; don't think the 490 did till following yr. when the linkage problem got sorted out.

A good friend of mine ported a '81 490 cylinder that Dave Coupe rode for a practice and it scared the pants off of him.....those '81 490s IMO were awful good motors without reeds and plenty powerful stock. A few diehard Maico evo riders use the '81 490 motors.

The 81 /82 490 were the same motor except for the intake on the 82 which was offset to clear the single shock, the offset piece could be removed and the 82 cylinder used on the 81 frame. In 83 the motor was completely redesigned with gear primary drive rather than chain , different cases and trans , reed valve cylinder and much improved shock linkage setup. They were available as a standard MX model with a 4 speed or the Sand Spider model which boasted a 5 speed trans. However some funny business with the quality control of heat treating of certain gears and shafts in the transmissions led to many failures and warranty claims which coupled with the abysmal reputation of the poorly designed suspension on the 82 model sped the marque into untimely financial misfortune.

so if the 83 is the rocket ship, the mags called it the scariest 500 engine around...but having ridien the 85 cr 500 and 85 kx 500 and the 87 cr 500, how fast can that old air cooled thing be vs. those 2 stroke monsters??? those cr's were smoking fast

I've been on an 83 490, seemed the same as my 81 by seat of pants dyno. Also ridden KX and Cr 500's. One of my Buds ride is an alum framed CR500, he rode my 81 and said it was "a real stump puller". The torque is extreme, there is no explosive hit like a lot of 500's, just massive pull and scary fast acceleration. With the works Racer shocks the suspension is like butta except in our biggest sand whoops (central Florida) the forks are too soft. I am considering the Race Tech emulators for the forks, just for the mega whoops.

Maico big bores have always been known for broad , smooth power and the 83 had that in droves even more so than the much acclaimed 81 piston port model and thanks to the reed valve and different cylinder and head more off the bottom and more overrun on top. I dont recall a mag test stating it was a "scary" fast motor, usually that was applied to the 495 KTM of that year and even the earlier CR's and KX's were known for more of a light switch powerband. Honda detuned the CR for several years in order to make it more rider friendly.

I rode a few Maicos they were smoother than the CR500 but didnt have the shear power. It was actually easier to ride. I mainly raced a RM465 which after tuning the suspension and power band I could beat Maicos or Hondas. On Open class 2 strokes they all have plenty of power, the rider is the main factor with these bikes.

A thing of beauty, although the CR500 or KX500 may have been faster they don't look like a Maico. I remember getting pelted with rocks and clumps of dirt the size of a small nation way back then by a 490 I've wanted one ever since.

A thing of beauty, although the CR500 or KX500 may have been faster they don't look like a Maico. I remember getting pelted with rocks and clumps of dirt the size of a small nation way back then by a 490 I've wanted one ever since.

Mayzo:

It's still for sale! I just saw the owner last Sunday @ Rio Bravo & he still has it. he dosen't like e-bay for some reason?